Tofig Gasimov Masim oglu ( az, Tofiq Qasımov Məsim oğlu;10 April 1938 – 29 January 2020) was an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Early life

Gasimov was born in Leki village of

Agdash Rayon Agdash District ( az, Ağdaş rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the centre of the country and belongs to the Central Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Yevlakh, Shaki, Oghuz, Qabala, Goyc ...

. In 1945–1955, he studied in

Agstafa Agstafa ( az, Ağstafa) is a town, municipality (assigned in 1941) and the capital of the Aghstafa District of Azerbaijan. Agstafa district was established in 1939, abolished in 1959 and merged with Gazakh district, became an independent distric ...

city school. In 1955–1960, he was enrolled at

Azerbaijan State University Baku State University (BSU) ( az, Bakı Dövlət Universiteti (BDU)) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and ...

and graduated with a degree in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

using ''Stalin scholarship''. After graduation, he worked at the Physics Institute of

Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) ( az, Azərbaycan Milli Elmlər Akademiyası (AMEA)), located in Baku, is the main state research organization and the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of ...

. Gasimov continued with his post graduate studies at Physics Institute of

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

and in 1969, he obtained his PhD degree. He then worked as scientist at the National Academy of Sciences in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

from 1970 on.

Political career

Since 1987, Gasimov was involved in politics. In March–May 1988, Gasimov participated in drafting the charter of

Popular Front of Azerbaijan The Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP; az, Azərbaycan Xalq Cəbhəsi Partiyası, ) is a political party in Azerbaijan, founded in 1992 by Abulfaz Elchibey. After Elchibey's death in 2000, the party split into two wings, the ''reform'' wi ...

(PFA) and was one of board members of the organization from 1989 to 1990. He was elected member of the Investigation Committee of Azerbaijani

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

during the extraordinary session of the parliament on 22 January 1990 to investigate Black January massacre of 20 January 1990. On behalf of PFA, Gasimov had been sent to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to cooperate with deputies of

Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

. Gasimov was credited for his role disseminating the truth about the Black January, refugees to more than 100 TV, radio channels as well as to international media. In May 1992, he was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and served until April 1993. Gasimov played an important role in establishing ties with other countries while in office. During his term, Gasimov signed MOU with UN representatives that led to establishment of Azerbaijan's permanent mission to

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. After being removed from his post, Gasimov tried to get elected to

Azerbaijani Parliament The National Assembly ( az, Milli Məclis), also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms ...

as a member of

Musavat The Müsavat Party ( az, Müsavat Partiyası, from ar, مساواة ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. Early Musa ...

during the November 1995 parliament elections but was jailed before the elections even took place.

Post political career

Gasimov authored nearly 100 scientific publications. Tofig Gasimov was the co-founder of Baku Scientists Club. Since the end of the 1990s, he taught in various universities in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and continued his scientific research work. He was married and had 2 children. Gasimov was fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gasimov, Tofig 1938 births 2020 deaths Prime Ministers of Azerbaijan Azerbaijani diplomats Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Azerbaijani Popular Front Party politicians Baku State University alumni